inertia
by A Love Destructive
Summary: Artemis needs some time for herself. She needs an escape, and all that is budding between two friends slowly unfurls. [a traught plot divergence]
1. Chapter 1

I'm pretty sure we all miss Wally. Artemis most of all, but I also think she's stronger than a lot of people give her credit for.

I also think she and Richard have an astounding love for each other, even if it is only friendship.

* * *

Artemis rolled over onto her side, feet tangling with the sheets as she spent another night hurt and restless. God, did she wish he were here. Reminders of him were everywhere. She was so tired of his presence, but invigorated by it. When she was at her loneliest, she would imagine that he'd walk through the door, or surprise her on missions. Her eyes burned. She blinked rapidly to deter the tears and reached for his maroon sweatshirt, his favorite. It smelled of him, no matter how many times she held it, no matter how long she pressed her face to it. Chives.

She had learned German and Irish family recipes from his mother so he could have a taste of home on special days. Orange Cake with orange icing was his favorite of her homemade desserts, even though she tweaked the cake with cinnamon. She had made him mashed potatoes seasoned in garlic and dill, and roast beef the day before he…_ceased_.

It had been two years since then.

The worst part was that she could never kneel at a grave for closure, or visit it when she was lonely. She could not properly say goodbye.

Her sister, kindly enough, had Roy build an altar where his picture was placed and where her family would pray for his rest each time they visited. It had been a long time since she observed the customs, and felt a little strange to start now, but it was perhaps more than appropriate. Her mother had suggested leaving his favorite dishes on the altar as an offering to his departed soul, and they burned incense for one hundred days after his death. She appreciated it. Her family was growing little by little.

And now. Now she had to adjust to life without him, after nearly six years of making room for him in it. She kept making too much food on reflex, enough for maybe eight people, often causing her to eat leftovers for days. Occasionally, Zatanna would stop by to help her get rid of it - or Jade and Lian and Roy, inhaling the food and filling the space of the apartment that had grown too big for her. She needed to go out. She could not bear to leave the apartment to someone else, could not bear to stay in it. The walls pressed on her, the absence of him wore at her and there were entire days of calm bitterness.

Acceptance.

Acceptance that he was gone. She knew it in her heart and in her mind. She told herself every day. Death was not an end, but a beginning, and hopefully he would rest well. But her body, her body is a product of training and habit. Her legs were used to circling the table once so she could hug him from behind before eating. Her hands were used to reaching for him under the covers. Her body was used to being the big spoon when they were sleeping. Her lips were used to smiling at the spot he occupied on the couch. Her eyes searched for him as soon as she woke.

And the amount of times she addressed open air, turned to the side to tell him a funny story, was painfully frequent.

Oh, god. Wally.

So, it was time for her to distance herself, once again, from the home she was unable to leave. She rolled out of bed and strolled over to her cellphone. She tapped a finger and slid it across the screen. Who would she call? Who would answer? Zatanna on a mission with Constantine, currently . She had not heard from her in days. She never knew when Jade would show up, and Kaldur was too kind, with a big enough heart that his warmth sometimes smothered her. Though they still remained close, she missed sometimes the connection she had with him in a sea of criminals. They were both so alone in that time, and she was especially alone now. No, it was best to leave him alone tonight. He was busy leading the team, anyway. And she stopped being a part of it. Her fingers slid down the contacts list indecisively. And then they stopped.

Dick. Nightwing. Robin. Richard.

She could meet him. He was working Bludhaven, currently. She could go elsewhere. Leave the town for the night. This was doable.

She walked slowly, glancing as passing storefronts with windows covered in iron grating, surprised at the state of the city. It was warm for a spring night, and the stars were obstructed by clouds and light pollution. Not that that bothered her. She preferred it that way, she sometimes thought.

Her boot-heels clacked as each step was assured and the leather of her jacket was a weighty comfort. She could see why he felt he needed to help the city residents. The homeless were scattered around the tracks in the downtown and the pain was practically audible. Maybe Dick needed a distraction after Wally had…ceased. A change. A new identity just as Tigress was hers. She decided to quicken her pace, as she was supposed to meet him at Bonefish Grill within a few minutes.

She soon came upon the restaurant a large fish skeleton topping the doors._ How pleasant_. Finding his table wasn't difficult, as he was taller than everyone in the restaurant. She still wondered at how much he had grown in the past few years, toned as ever. He stood to greet her as she made her way over and he kissed her cheek. "Artie. It's good to see you."

She shot him a semi-nasty smile, looking down at the menu. "Don't call me that." _They were really gunning for the crab cakes and Mahi Mahi here, weren't they_? She happened to catch him looking at her, frowning a little, eyebrows furrowed. "What?"

"You haven't been sleeping well, Artie."

So the circles under her eyes were not that concealable after all. She would have to get a refund on the foundation. "I haven't been sleeping, Dick. And please don't call me that," she corrected him. He would never listen to her, she knew. He listened to no one.

"I'm here. We're all here for you," he said, so gently, assuming that she was referring to Wally's….

"I know." But she had no wish to trouble them. She had accepted his death a long while ago. She was sure of it. "Look, can we just eat? I'm starving."

The meal was delicious and the friendly outing had been refreshing change of pace. She refused herself a lot of simple pleasures lately and was happy to indulge for the few hours she was with him. He walked her out of the restaurant after she paid (he was on a cop's salary and she insisted, as thanks), both ending up enjoying a stroll and wandering for a little while in Melville Park, before going back to his apartment.

He told her stories of the days when he belonged to Haley's Circus, and of the joy he felt high in the air among skyscrapers. They spoke of Wally and he told her when he had first met the speedster, and how much the guy had irritated him, and how much he grew to love him just as she had. He left the windows open while they talked and ate ice cream. It was probably out of habit, that he did so, she thought.

Artemis deposited her empty bowl into the sink, watching the leftover cherry flavoring drip into the drain. "It's been great, but I think I should…" Go home? Go where? She took a breath considering. If she went home, she would spend yet another night without Wally. The night would be filled with restlessness and agitation in an over-sized bed.

Dick looked down at her. It irked Artemis how short she truly was in comparison. Only six years ago he had been a tiny Robin. Now he was a giant. "Spend the night." He was smiling - that calm good-natured grin, with that shaggy black hair waving slightly in the breeze.

Her expression turned stern. "What are you propositioning?"

"I don't know." His hand took hers, thumb running over the back of her hand slowly.

She whispered, "You're my best friend. You were _his_ best friend." That seemed important. He was Wally's best friend. Her breath came quick and she had to fight that inevitable pull one feels in a moment of heat and familiarity. She knew what would entail.

"I still am. I can be both." He had both of her hands now. She found herself irritated by the way she was reacting. His eyes were kind, as if he knew how she was afraid to go to her own home. "_Artie_."

"I _wish_ you wouldn't call me-" her words caught in her throat once his lips touched her skin.

He began by kissing the corner of her mouth. She surprised herself when her fingers skimmed his back, inviting him closer; his muscles were hard and his breath smelled of crab meat and steak and hollandaise. _His meal must have been delicious_, she thought and a breathy laugh escaped her.

"What?" His arms slipped around her waist and he held her, tracing small circles on her lower back.

"I wish I had tasted your food when we were in the restaurant."

"That's what you're thinking about?" Laughter hovered about Dick's features. She was unsure if he were exasperated or amused or both. But he lowered his head and kissed her neck, the tip of his tongue swirling lazily on her skin. Her skirt was being lifted, slow enough to let his palms brush her thighs and she sighed. She needed this.

They ran naked into the bedroom in a playful manner, with a tweak of the nipple or a slap on Dick's ass. He grabbed her quick and spun her facing him, touching her and rubbing until she was wet enough to slip a finger inside. He kissed her as she went limp in his arms, enjoying the feeling of him stroking her over and over until she found herself grinding on his hand. And the expression on his face became smug when she pushed him onto the bed and climbed atop, teasing the tip of his penis before allowing him to push into her. Any tension she had left seeped out of her limbs and she let go and luxuriated in the movement. Every time their skin met her need grew and whispered "Harder" and he flipped her on her back, her legs over his shoulders and pounded, sucking her tit all the while.

A ball, a knot built in her midsection and if he kept hitting that place the spot—

A high keening noise escaped and she tensed and for what felt like an hour her mind became clouds and air - little shocks of electricity ran through her and her eyes stopped seeing and she just could not stop shaking. She was slightly aware of his sigh and of the way he collapsed around her, but it was unimportant.

Artemis stared dazedly at him as he, limp now, pulled out and lowered her legs. She reached up for him. He paused, smiled and kissed her deep and long, and she could feel his contentment wash over her. Dick rubbed her back with her snuggled into the crook of his arm until she fell asleep.

She slept peacefully for the first time in months.

She was woken in the morning by the smell of food and the sound of metal things clattering against metal surfaces. Her face was stiff from drool and she was cocooned in blankets like a caterpillar. And she was sure she recognized the voice that was singing quietly elsewhere in the apartment.

Dick. That was Dick. He's singing.

She rolled off the mattress and walked down the hall a little ways, naked still, to find him clad in jeans carefully attempting to flip a piece of toast with an egg frying in a hole in the middle.

"…I want to be what you always needed. Then I hope you'll see the heart in me – I don't want another pretty face, I don't want just- Artemis! You're awake."

"Didn't know you were a fan of Jesse McCartney, Boy Wonder."

"Jesse and I go way back, actually." He snorted, then dumped the browned egg-toast things onto plates, using diced strawberries as a garnish. "Want some eggy-in-a-basket?"

"This a family recipe?"

"Kind of," he brushed a hair back from her eyes. "Alfred taught me. Want to wear my shirt?"

"Sure, thanks." She wandered back into his room, picking her way around discarded articles of clothing and bed-sheets on the ground from where she had unwrapped herself.

She chose a button-down, checkered and blue, and splashed some water on her face before walking back into the kitchen to enjoy breakfast. The cool morning air was nippy on her exposed legs and bottom, but it was refreshing, like sucking in air after eating peppermint candy. Dick pulled out a chair for her at the chestnut table by a window. The sounds of the city awakening and busying itself floated in. She struggled for a bit with the food, as the egg dripped out of the "basket" as soon as she bit into it, and thus spent an exasperating amount of time chasing the yolk around the plate with the olive oil-soaked bread.

Dick looked on, amused. "Do you need help?"

"No." She indignantly stuffed the last of it in her mouth. "More please."

Dick got up to light the stove. "So last night was fun," he said as he pour olive oil onto the pan. "I'd say you were pretty traught." There was a crack as the eggs fell into the circles of bread.

Artemis scoffed, but sobered quickly as she patted her mouth with a napkin. "Thank you for seeing me. For all of this."

He turned to her, keeping the eggs-in-a-basket within periphery. "I wanted to see you. I enjoy hanging out with you."

She stood to lean against him, so she could look into his eyes, so he knew she was sincere. "I didn't talk to you sooner than this because I was busy. Being Tigress. I was adjusting. I barely even talk to Kaldur now. Roy and I only talk because of Lian, I think. And I've fallen out of touch with a lot of people and Raquel is married and…"

Dick cupped her face and his voice was so soft as he said, "You don't need to explain yourself to me, Artemis. I know how it feels to be uprooted." He kissed her nose and she wrinkled it with annoyance, before turning back to the stove. "Missed you, though."

"I missed you, too. I'm glad we're still friends."

Dick laughed, ginning widely. "Me too, Artie."


	2. Chapter 2

This chapter was inspired by Midsummer Night's Dream by Brown Eyed Girls because I like bittersweet music.

I hadn't thought this would become a two-shot. It'll probably be a five-shot.

* * *

Richard smirked as he heard the faint patter of footsteps and frantic jiggling of the doorknob. A slightly breathless Artemis opened the door. For a second something unreadable flitted across her face, a micro-expression, so incredibly brief –

He held up the package at his side. "Brought tuna casserole, courtesy of Alfred."

A slender, blonde eyebrow rose incredulously. Her hair, unbound today, swayed as she shook her head. "_Casserole_. But it was one of his favorites."

He loved to listen to her voice sometimes; she had a tonal quality much like cracked pepper. Fresh and biting. He closed his eyes for a moment and just breathed.

"You coming in, Boy Wonder?"

His eyes snapped open. He arranged to look pleased and slightly excited in order to placate the potential storm in Artemis' eyes. It was, after all, Wally's birthday. The old team, or whoever was able to find time between personal missions, was supposed to meet here to celebrate it for him. This arrangement had become somewhat of an unspoken-agreed upon tradition between all of the team. As had the service Richard was able to offer Artemis in terms of non-verbal comfort.

He stepped into the house, a sudden warmth settling over him. Smells of food, potluck foods, such as fried chicken and mashed potatoes and greens, the kind of food you sit down at a table to have a family dinner with. And they _were_ family. The table in the kitchen and the counter behind it was _laden_. Artemis came to stand behind Richard, placing her hand on his arm. He looked down at her, kissed her brow, and whispered, "He would have loved it."

"Yeah, I think so too." Her voice grew brisk. "We have maybe a few hours before any others arrive – you can help with the decorations."

"Decorations?" He echoed.

"Yeah, some are laid out on the couch. I gotta check on the oven, I'll be right back. Sit down." Artemis flapped her hands. "Make yourself at home, I guess." Richard watched her walk away; she had a fluid way of moving, from a near-lifetime of martial arts and training in stealthy movement. However, she was not nearly as graceful as he was.

He took the chance to look around her apartment. The walls were painted a warm golden color, visually inspiring a sense of contentment and laughter and summer. Kissing under streetlamps and the feel of her calloused hands. The counter and kitchen were perhaps ten paces away, and down a little hallway. His pace was slow. Off to the right was the Bedroom. He had been there before, but only through the window - and only after a joint mission. No pictures on the walls, no specific traces of Wally until the altar appeared in his line of vision. Set in a bit of an alcove, a corner in the wall with what looked like hand-carved wood and a picture of his best friend at his most weirdly charming moment sat in the middle. There were fresh fruits – Wally's favorites of course – and flowers in a vase near the incense. Various porcelain bowls containing tidbits of food from the potluck (including the correctly assumed fried chicken) inlaid with a beautiful leafy design were placed carefully on the lower shelf of the altar. There was a set of matches on the corner of the table, and on impulse, Richard lit one.

The incense coil burned. A faint scent arose and he felt an ache in his throat and his knees went weak. He knelt. "I'm sorry, Wally," he whispered, "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have, but I think I love her too."

And he could feel the pressure of Wally's eyes on his bowed head, he could feel the stare of the picture – but a light touch to the shoulder made him glance up. Artemis. How much had she heard? But she only quirked a wry smile. "Thank you for honoring him," she said, kneeling beside him.

"I don't think I've honored him at all."

[ _I'm sorry, Wally._]

They stayed like that for a few minutes, side by side, thighs touching, and a near audible tension developed, broken only by the sound of the doorbell.

"I'll get the door Artemis-"

"No, it's okay. You haven't spoken to him in a year. This is your chance." Her eyes were soft.

Richard nodded and turned back to the picture. To Wally. "I've been looking for ways for you to come back, but I don't know…what if you come back and…I just want Artemis to be okay. But she _is_ okay, she's strong and beautiful and kind of a bitch. What should I do? Should I keep trying to figure out a way to bring you back? Should I find out where you've gone?" He sat back on his heel and smoothed a hand over his face. "God, I don't know." But he quieted as footsteps, heavier than Artemis', moved toward him.

It is later that night (after Jade and Lian and Roy go home, after Kaldur leaves and Bart makes a speedy exit) that he begins to understand the answer to his question. He dreads the knowledge. He wanted to kiss her. Just her brow perhaps, or maybe her shoulder. But this was Wally's night and so he refrained. And when she began to follow him out the door, he stopped her, kissed her cheek (if only to give into the desire to touch her and just be _near_ her), and went home.

They did not get a chance to speak for a few weeks, due to conflicting schedules and Richard's slight avoidance of her. It wasn't that he wanted to, but he felt it necessary to sort himself out, to ruminate. Added to that fact was the distinct possibility that he was an unnecessary factor in her life. She was incredibly independent and lived according to whatever suited her. Perhaps he only muddled things between them. Perhaps she needed Wally back. Or was it only _wanted_? Perhaps he was overthinking it. So he went about the rest of the month working the beat and slowly earning favor to make his way up to detective through excellent work and dedication. Life became punctuated by dalliances and crime prevention.

He's not expecting it when she shows up while he's doing paperwork on a robbery. She comes striding into the department building over to the coffee machine he's standing at, her face set with a stern expression.

"So how come you haven't called?"

"I've been thinking of bringing Wally back." He didn't know what made him blurt that so casually. It was possible that the thought bothered him more than he would like to admit.

"That's a really cruel joke, Boy Wonder."

He caught her arm before she could walk away. "I'm not joking. I've been thinking about this for the past few weeks. I don't think he's dead, just out of phase."

He was met with silence. "Artemis?" Maybe he shouldn't have told her. But he couldn't not tell her.

She shook her head incredulously. "I can't be the one to decide this for you."

Richard sighed, "That's why I've been avoiding you. This is huge and I needed time to examine the issue and talk with theorists, but you just came barging in here- "

"What, like I need permission to talk to you now?" Her voice rose with every word. Her eyes bore into him. Her hand fisted in his shirt. "You didn't think avoiding one of the _closest_ friends you've ever had without any explanation wouldn't seem weird you me? You didn't think I wouldn't try to find out what happened? If there was anything wrong?"

"No, I- " he fumbled with his words. This conversation was going in the opposite direction he had wanted. "That's the whole point of not speaking, Artemis." He threw his hands up. "Maybe I just needed time."

"Well, _maybe_ I missed you."

A breath shuddered out of him. "I'm sorry."

"Good. Good." She let herself fall against the wall, sliding down. He took a seat next to her. "Dick, I…I _mourned_ him."

"We all did."

When she looked at him there were tears in her eyes but her expression was steely. "You think he can come back?"

"It's a distinct possibility." He took her hand. She laid her head on his shoulder and he kissed her crown.

"I don't know if I can believe that."

They spent the night at his place. He carried her to his room, kissing her fervently. This was the moment he was supposed to stop her, but he found that he couldn't. He was unable to let go of her and she didn't offer to leave. There seemed to be a silent mutual understanding between them that this would be the last time. So he backed her into the wall and pressed and she undid all of his buttons the better to touch him. When he went down on her she came with tears in her eyes, hands tightening on his shoulders and she ground against his tongue.

Things between them were always so visceral and raw.

He ended up behind her, fucking her slowly, kissing her back and clutching at her middle. His arms tightened around her when he came and he murmured _I love you_ into the crook between her shoulder blades -because he _did_ and because those words never hold any meaning during sex. It was perhaps his only chance to say it. _I love you._

But she raised herself on her knees and leaned back into him and trembled. _I know._ She touched him so gently.

All he could do was kiss her neck and think about the fact that he would never be able to know her in this way again when Wally came back.


	3. Chapter 3

I thought the quote might be relevant. Mostly inspired by "Dark in My imagination" of Verona

I'm excited for this chapter.

* * *

**I**

Dick had found it necessary to take a leave of absence from work, and was informed that Artemis took a break from her studies in cultural anthropology for the semester. It was just as well, they both needed the break. They started off seeking Zatanna. She was one of the few most powerful magic-practitioners they knew, and if anyone knew anything about warping reality, she did – apart from Klarion the Witch Boy and Dr. Fate.

Zatanna placed her tea back in the cup-holder. "What would you guys like to know?" She was leaning back in the booth at the Plum Crazy Diner, and she was just as beautiful as Dick remembered her to be. Enchanting, he might say, if someone were to ask.

"What if someone were locked in a bend in reality? Or a fold in time? Where would we begin rescuing this person?"

"You're talking about, Wally." She was shrewd, too. He had forgotten that.

"Yes," Artemis said. "We want him back. Dick's researched some things and there's a chance…."

"That he might come back to you?" Zatanna watched Artemis' eyes closely, and Dick saw a flicker of something in them. She still loved Wally after all this time. "Very well then. Let me try something." She rolled her shoulders back, and inhaled sharply through her nose.

"_Sdnim rou ni thgrib emad eb Tsew Yllaw ot htap a yam, hcraes rieth ni sdneirf ym eduig eb taht srewop eth yam. Em ot nwonk eb mih tel ytilaer sith ni erehwyna stsixe Yllaw fi."_

Her eyes glowed and the cups rattled. Time slowed for a moment. Her fingers rose to touch their foreheads and the diner fell away. Light flared behind Dick's eyelids -

Darkness – then

A planet surrounded by a soft green halo

Stars

Millions of cephalopod lifeforms, scurrying about the sleek and dark lands of-

A small medallion, casting the reflection of the sun from snow

Red hair and a quick smile

And her fingers left his brow and his eyes opened. He felt weary.

"He does not exist on this reality," Zatanna whispered, her voice rough. "But the answers to where he does exist are at the far reaches of the galaxy. Did you see?"

Artemis nodded. "I saw. I know the path now." He could see a light of hope in her now and if they were unable to find Wally-

"I'm sure the other Leaguers know more about the technology for this." Zatanna slid her hand over Artemis'. "I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help. I mourned him as well. Dick especially – "

"Zatanna." He cut her off using a tone he learned from Bruce. He slid out of the booth and Artemis looked cross, but she joined him.

Zatanna sighed. "Very well. I wish you both luck and clarity. You'll need it. Especially if he doesn't…just, good luck."

Artie kissed her cheek. "Thank you."

"Take care of each other."

**II**

J'onn sighed. The technology the two young people were asking for was difficult to use – especially after the zeta-tubing incidents. But they could not be assuaged. So he directed them to the place of their describing – gave them five days. In that time, if they did not find the desired answers they were to return. And if he saw anything in the way their eyes met he said nothing.

**III**

The world was as odd as the vision they received allowed their minds to process. Tall spires of metallic black jutted into the sky with purple grasses waving tall at the bases. Their supplies were enough for a week (it was unknown if the environment was hospitable – or the vegetation) but they were mostly navigating by the feel of the spell driving them. _Forward_ it whispered in their bodies.

They had to be careful, had to observe. Interplanetary relations were shaky at best and the League was on thin ice with their celestial neighbors. Days were longer than they thought and the nights were chilled and had the oddest way of snatching warmth from them – so huddling together in slumber had become necessary. The occasional kisses grew into a form of reassurance, slipping into nuzzling and whispers during the dark.

_Are you sure we'll be alright_

_Yes_

_Keep me warm, Wonderboy_

Dick could not help but be aware of the tension between them during the light hours. And he could tell Artemis was vastly uncomfortable most of the time.

To alleviate this they began to hold hands.

So they watched. Waited.

On the fourth morning they had reached a circle of the giant spires and were traveling between them when a slit opened in one of them and produced a grey eight-tentacled creature. Artemis tensed, "What-"

Dick quickly unwrapped the gear he had brought with them – a translator of sorts –and caught the final words of the alien.

"- though bipeds tend to be wearisome creatures. Come along, then."

"What does it want us to do?" Artemis had assumed a loose way of standing, ready for movement.

"Follow it. C'mon," and he grabbed her hand and marched forth.

The interior of the spire was dark with a floor that glowed under each surface touch. Dick was unable to discern which one of them was gripping the other more tightly. He looked back at Artemis. Her expression was an odd mixture of fearful and hopeful.

The life-form spoke. "You have come a long way. We do not usually get travelers from your end of the galaxy. I will receive the details of your journey in my chambers." It ran a limb along the wall and another slit opened to reveal a squat sphere of a room. A few furniture pieces were suspended in mid-air, though their purpose was difficult to understand. "Why are you here? You're Earth-people I presume? Breaking intergalactic laws being here."

Artemis and Dick exchanged looks. She would be the one to speak. "Yes. We were informed that you might have the technology to fix an aberration."

"Elaborate, please."

"We had a friend," she stumbled over the word (Wally had been so much more than that), "who was able to – who had abilities that were…that possibly changed a certain zone because of the shockwave caused by Reach technology. Broken tech."

"Changed abilities?"

Dick cleared his throat. "I theorized that the pulse caused by disrupted technology pushed our friend into another plane of existence – catalyzed by the interaction of certain conflicting physical properties. He can – he has super-speed and he never – he sort of phased out of visible existence." Artemis touched his shoulder. He realized his hands were shaking. "We think he might still be alive, just trapped."

A tentacle wiggled noncommittally. "It is entirely possible to reach him, if we closely examine and manage to pull at the Event Affectational Area." The alien clicked out the words, and the inside of Artemis' ears trembled at the vocalizations. She imagined that the life-form's voice box was formed in the like of a gravel-filled bag. "To do this we must manipulate the spatial dimensions in the zone of cessation."

It rummaged through the equipment on the floating slab of a material similar to marble and produced a round instrument, tapering and slightly raised in the middle. There were various bumps on its surface and a small square of what looked like translucent malachite.

"This will help us?"

The life-form clacked. "If it doesn't, then I've not made it well." It pressed a bump and the light in the room bent. "I'll teach you."

**IV**

They were laying together in their insulated tent in the grasslands, and the oddly muted noise of the storm outside only served to amplify the sound of their love-making.

"We have to stop," Artemis whispered as Dick's hand skimmed her breast. He kissed her nipple, dragging his hand down her belly.

"I don't know if we know how." His voice was unsteady. This was one of the first times he acknowledged the pull between them, a gravity worthy of the partnership between stars and planets. And he continued to touch her.

Artemis looked at him, leaning over her, with his face arranged in a needy frown. His hair was slightly damp from earlier. She wondered if they would ever get closer to finding Wally, but as he leaned down to kiss her lips all thoughts fled and she lost herself in the desire to be near Dick Grayson.

**V**

They had been at the site of the spatial corruption for a week, and Dick had mastered the instrument quickly but there was a lull in progress.

"I'm worried."

His eyes searched hers, and he remained silent.

"What if we open the Breach and what comes out isn't Wally?"

His fingers tightened around hers. "Whatever happens, I'll make it right."

"I love you, Dick Grayson."

But it was entirely too late for that, and he was committed. Still. "I love you, too." He turned from her. "Go to bed. I have to finish the calibration. The conditions tomorrow are good for it."

He felt her press a kiss to his shoulder through his thermal suit.

**VI**

Artemis stood at the breach, shielding her eyes from the pulsating waves of light before her. She felt strong arms slide around her waist and she turned into the shoulder, inhaling that familiar spicy-sweet scent. Dick Grayson's hand tightened around hers as a low hum increased in intensity, a noise like a dull itch in the ears. The air was stagnant and dry, but the winds outside of the breach zone had turned turbulent.

And then a foot appeared in the slit in the air, red-clad and booted. A leg followed (the image warping slightly as space bent around the portal) and a torso and a hand and an arm…a flash of red hair….

A weary smile.

Tears welled in Artemis' eyes and her fist tightened as she struggled to contain herself. "Wally," she whispered. They had done it. They took him out of the Speed Force. He was breathing. He was here. Alive.

"You took your time finding me, Beautiful." Wally rushed forward at normal speed and swept her into his arms. Dick released her without hesitation and her skin chilled where his hands had been. "You're shaking," Wally remarked, running his fingers through her hair, and she shuddered once more, still disbelieving. He was alive. All that time. "But it's alright. I'm back now." He leaned back to look into her eyes.

"Dick was the one who…" She took a minute to compose herself, breathing deeply. Wally was back. "It was Dick who figured it out. He, um." She waved him over, but he stayed still, a near-upon statue with a broken expression. "He helped me keep faith. He wouldn't stop until we found you."

Wally grinned then, and said, "What better best friend could I ask for?"

Dick had not moved yet so Wally walked toward him and embraced him tightly. He wept, lungs shaking with each breath. "I'm sorry it wasn't sooner, Wally. I'm sorry." Artemis could see the old Dick Grayson, the vulnerable thirteen-year boy with unbroken idealism. She walked forward and touched his hand and he met her eyes. Another shudder ran through her. She could feel a barrier form between them, so strong as to be almost palpable. Still, she joined them, reveling in the wonder of Wally's return and the warmth of Dick's happiness. For a moment, they were one, hands touching, teary-eyed and joyful.

It was the first time in three years since she touched Wally – and the last time she would ever allow herself to touch Dick Grayson again.


	4. Chapter 4

I must've re-written this chapter 18 times.

* * *

It started with the little things. Differences. Not all at once, but gradually, something intangible but hanging in the air above them, a lesser doom. Artemis began to feel stifled by all of the wrongness. She was sure that Wally felt it too. Ruminating over where it began had her convinced it was food. It was a few months after his Welcome Back Party. She called him after his afternoon class was over, urging him to come home.

She had forgotten how to make one of his favorite meals. It was insignificant, a hiccup, in the otherwise slow passing of their days rediscovering each other. It was an incident that provided jokes for when they visited the Flash Family.

But the sex was different. Their bodies were not connecting in the way they previously had. The love-making had become quick routine, almost reassuring to Wally. Their times together became punctuated with bouts of heavy petting in place of inane conversations.

The distance between them grew, unnoticeable.

She began to feel sick at the silences, no longer companionable. The apartment walls were filled with muted What Ifs and What Could Bes, and Wally had not changed at all. Not like she had.

Artemis started spending more time with her family than the Allens. Sometimes Jade and Roy were away, and they needed her to watch Lian during her free days. This she did with Gar and Kaldur. (Growing up with super-powered, extremely talented adopted aunts and uncles must be magical. She thinks _her_ daughter would be so loved.) The apartment barely saw her, all the food was pre-made. Wally no longer cooked with her, and college was getting more demanding, so he spent more time in the libraries and labs among books and bacterium.

Distance was growing.

Artemis took to meeting Richard, turning to and calling him more for a good laugh or when she was bored. Things were a little off between them, and if there was one thing she could repair, it would be this.

_Who are you texting?_

_Dick._

_How has he been?_

_Overwhelmed._

The words "Why hasn't he come to see me yet?" were never uttered but they were there. She did not dare broach the subject.

This night, Dick and Artemis met at the Bonefish Grill once more. She in a pantsuit, he just barely out of his work-clothes. "This food is way overpriced," Artemis grumbled. The only reason the two of them met there was because it was where they changed things. The waiter had chosen a booth: the privacy was dangerous boon.

"Artie." The tone of absolute temperance in Dick's voice grated on her, and she watched his fingers curl around a napkin. She missed the little things with him, but Wally was back now and their lives should be fine. Just fine.

"Whatever. We'll keep coming back here, I guess." She looked over the menu – only one long page of food and two pages of alcohol_. Ridiculous._

"How's he adjusting? It's got to be hard." Artemis could tell he was trying for casual but he failed. His hand clenched as he went on, saying, "Is he lonely?"

"A bit, yeah. His family's been great about making him feel welcome again." She set the menu down and ventured, "It'd be better if you were there. He loves you."

"I can't."

Artemis looked down at the table, at the whorls in the dark wood and the sheen of the lacquer. "_I_ love you."

The silence pained her. Perhaps she had been too forward.

"This was a mistake," and he started to go.

But Artemis could not let him, not when she saw him only once every two months so she grabbed his lapels as he started to pass her by and she gripped them. "I've missed you, Grayson. Sit down. Please." There was a near-audible beat. "_Please_." Maybe her voice cracked. Maybe it took all she had not to run her hand over his chest. Maybe she wanted to feel him one last time.

"We shouldn't be touching," he whispered.

People around them were doing that thing where they glanced surreptitiously and judgmentally. She had to fix this. "You were about to leave." He still had not moved. "Come _here_." He gave no resistance as she dragged him into the booth beside her, careful not to brush his skin or look at him too long. The space between them was widening.

And so the waiter came and took their orders and they were left alone with each other. "So he's finishing up his doctorate?" Dick's eyes were on her, and his gaze was heavier than she could bear. There was too much in his eyes.

"Yes. He may be having trouble adjusting to the changes in me but his brain is as sharp as ever." Artemis pushed the ice around in her cup with a straw. "There's been some strain so he's focusing on schoolwork. He's always been bad about knowing when I need space." She laughed. "He hasn't changed at all."

Dick waited. "Does he talk about…"

"No." Wally had not uttered a word about where he was before they retrieved him. He went on pretending nothing had happened. "I think he needs you."

A questioning glance.

"You're his best friend."

"Yeah." He ran a hand through his hair and for a moment Artemis remembered what it was like to hold his head down onto her – "Yeah, I guess, I am."

"Please come see him. Kaldur and Roy have been great, but they're not you. _I'm_ not you."

"I don't know if I can face him, Artie."

She slid her hand close enough so that her pinky could lay over his. This, surely, would be allowed between them. This kind of touch could not garner that much harm. "I do. It'll be okay. He needs his friend."

"You're his friend, too."

She groaned. "Why are we still talking about this? Just come over after dinner."

And their food arrived.

The rest of dinner was marked by tales of their childhood and the smell of seafood. Sometimes when Bruce was still asleep in the mornings, Dick was saying, he'd stick straws up the big man's nose and get grounded for a week. Sometimes he would hide Bruce's ties in odd places - attached outside of the study's windows or hanging from dinner room light fixtures. Artemis related the story of how her sister Jade used to leave toilet seats up on purpose just so that she'd fall in at night – only to have revenge wrought upon her in terms of crickets in her breakfast Xoi.

She had missed this, the easy way they had around each other. Things between them had become tense for so long. And she happened to look down and saw their hands entwined and smiled. They could do this, friendship.

She footed the bill, and he offered to drive. She began the conversation.

"I have different goals now. Two years without him and two years of giving my life new purpose." Artemis rested her head back. "We did the right thing but… Sometimes I think we brought him back because we wanted a reason to hate ourselves."

His hands tightened on the wheel. "Do you hate yourself?"

She considered it. "No. Do you?"

"I hate myself for a lot of things."

Artemis wished she could hold him. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault." Dick grimaced. "I wish I could touch you." The last part was almost whispered. She understood; she was afraid to talk about it.

"I was too casual earlier." She had thought it would be safe. It had been months after all. "We should probably stay a few feet apart anyway," she joked. But the more she thought about it, the more it felt right. "It's safer, right?" She could see the apartment complex in view.

"A lot safer," he agreed.

The car stopped.

The two of them had a gravity between them.

She leaned into him.

It was only a hug. Very quick. Purposely impersonal. Artemis hoped he was unable to feel the thrumming inside of her. She fumbled with the latch. He was too close. "We can't touch at all. I was right." She felt like she was losing something here. "Do you ever miss the quiet? Our quiet?"

"Yeah. I miss your hair. And your attitude."

"I _don't_ have an attitude."

Dick laughed. Maybe they would be alright. He stepped out to open her door for her, not because she was incapable, but he just did that kind of thing.

They smiled, said their goodbyes. But he refused to see Wally.


End file.
